Trial and Error Learning

Learning by doing can be fun (and some would argue it’s the only way to learn), but the downside is that if you do it wrong, you have to find a solution to make it work. In my case here, I need to find a solution very fast.

A couple of months ago I went to Mumbai and saw this gorgeous Maheshwari organza silk fabric at the Women Weave office. Anyone who knows my taste in textiles knows that I love woven designs more than printed ones, whether it’s ikat or woven checks or jamdaani. When I saw this beautiful fabric with the subtle colour combinations, I knew I had to incorporate into the Spring Collection for 2010.

These photos are taken with the fabric folded over itself in layers

What I didn’t realize, until a few days ago when I received the fabric, was how the checks and the light green colours don’t show up very well in a single layer. This error on my part was probably due to my excitement over the fabric as a whole (the texture, the body, the depth) during the ordering stage, as opposed to thinking practically about how it would work in a garment. It’s tough though: when you’re in an office placing orders you can’t always imagine how that fabric will lend itself to the garment you have in mind.

Before the fabric arrived I thought I’d make a strappy dress with slight gathers or ruching at the side seam. I had a goldish-tussar coloured silk lining in mind for the green organza. But yesterday when I put it against the lining the green organza looked so drowned out in a single layer.

This is what the fabric looks like in a single layer placed over a gold-tussar coloured silk

The colour of the organza by itself is gorgeous- perfect, in my opinion, for a spring collection. I just need to figure out, very quickly, what lining is going to bring out the colours best, or if I should change the style completely to use two layers of the organza (which means a more expensive dress).

The Fatigue of Being Switched On

A few days ago I was in one of those moods- the kind when anything mildly unpleasant would inspire a long rant in my head. In the last few weeks I’ve felt over-worked (almost all my sales staff got typhoid one after the other and one of them quit with just 3 days notice before New Years), and I’ve had a couple of incidents with customers asking for discounts or telling me why my clothes aren’t nice. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t spend too much energy thinking about these, but I’ve been over-worked and short staffed. Context is important, right?

When I go to work every day, and especially at my store, I try to be “switched on”. This means immersing myself in my work and trying to treat each person and situation with the best attitude. However, being switched on can be exhausting. It is exhausting because it requires so much energy to be constantly enthusiastic and lively and energetic about your work and your interactions. Even if you happen to be totally hyper and cheerful by nature I’m sure many hours of being switched on at work will take a lot out of you.

Being switched on brings out the best in me but since it leaves me so drained, my “switched off” state doesn’t always showcase my best side. Take for example the case of customers giving me feedback I don’t like hearing. I actually happen to ask pretty much anyone who walks into my store for feedback (maybe at some deep, sub-conscious level I’m begging for flattery), so I shouldn’t resent it when they tell me what they really think. When I’m “switched on”, I am really receptive to feedback. I know what to listen to and what to tune out, and sometimes it can be a really interesting exercise to try and analyze why that customer feels a certain way about my garments. When I’m not switched on (and during these times I really shouldn’t be at the store but like I said, we’re short staffed right now), constant negative feedback hurts. It can be difficult to listen to, and in my mind I start off with my sarcastic, funny come-backs. Hey, don’t judge me for being human, and at least I don’t say them out loud!

Another example: customers asking for discounts at the store. I’ve grown to learn that regular customers want to feel appreciated in some way for giving me business over time, and first time customers- well, let’s face it, most people love a good deal. When I’m switched on, I apologize for not being able to give a discount. I tell customers very politely that I can understand their point of view but to please also consider that I am struggling to make this company swim and I still haven’t reached a point where I can give out discounts. When I’m tired and completely out of it, these requests feel like I’m being taken advantage of. For all my politeness and great service and free alterations (yes, that’s right) I have to lose money as well? That just can’t be fair!

So aside from the negative consequence of saving my worst side (and no, it’s not a conscious decision) for my “switched off” state- which my family and close friends have to put up with- there is another more frustrating problem: I am never allowed to be switched off. You see, once you’ve set a certain standard, it’s too much to expect people to put up with anything but the “switched on” state. Sometimes I feel I have to walk this really fine line with little margin for error. I am never allowed to have an off day when I’m feeling low on energy or just grumpy. Take this blog post for example: a few days ago I wrote a post about specific incidents with customers- it was more of a hilarious rant rather than an angry vent, but then I decided not to post it because there’s my reputation and the store’s reputation at stake. People who have only seen my switched on side might get offended.

Sadly, the switched on state is limiting. I am not allowed to be who I really am (funny, sarcastic, impatient, goofy, honest, up-front). If I’m interacting with someone on my wavelength then I do let my guard down a little, but most people who come to a store are not looking to get chatty with the owner on a personal level, and keeping everything on a business level means that I have to shun my goofy, sarcastic side lest I offend anyone. And when I’m not at the store, I still have to stay switched on because a customer may have my cell number, or a customer will ask the store to call me- I have to be prepared at all times for requests about custom-tailoring, discounts, and once in a while a screaming session about something that went wrong at the store.

This post is a plea to all my customers: understand that it takes so much effort to do what I do only because I put my whole heart into it. If I wasn’t this passionate and caring about my work, it really would require a lot less energy. My intention is to give you the best possible shopping experience, and to learn from you- what you buy as well as what you don’t buy. How else will my business grow? But also understand that it can be exhausting to do this without being myself once in a while, or bringing in some humour to keep things light. In fact, I would even argue that it’s the only thing that will keep me sane.

Dastkari Haat at Kalakshetra

Coming up next is a meaty and mildly controversial post on how being a good sales person/ store owner often prevents me from being myself. But while I work on editing that piece (don't want to offend anyone) I wanted to quickly share this information.

Dastkari Haat, a craft bazaar, is being held at Kalakshetra in Besant Nagar until the 20th of January. I wish I had posted this earlier, but I've been busy and exhausted doing many shifts at the store. Anyway, some of my suppliers are there and they have some beautiful yardage, sarees, scarves and dupattas. Please find the time to go there- if you like textiles and want to meet the craftsmen who make them, I promise you won't regret it.

This was taken at Mohammed Sabir's leheria stall (stall no. 71). It still amazes me how they get such fine lines in different colours by just tie-dying the fabric.


The mud resist printing process allows for this really cool "shadow" effect. Notice how you can see the colours of the triangular block under the zig-zag shadow block? I don't know the stall number, but ask around for the Chaubundi block print stall.

Brass Tacks Gold

December sales were not what I hoped they would be. I knew I was taking a risk with the focus on party wear, but I didn’t realize what a small segment of the market I was catering to with those styles - not because only a small segment is interested in party wear, but because those styles don’t necessarily appeal to everyone. I liked the collection though- and it was fun to design styles and put them out there because I wanted them to be a part of the collection, rather than editing them until they “fit in” with the styles that have done well in the past.

From customer feedback and sales, it seemed as if people either really liked the styles in the latest Winter Collection, or they really disliked them. There weren’t many in-betweens. In many ways this is a good thing because it means that the brand has a distinct point of view. However exploring the area of “fashion-forward, niche clothing” has meant catering to a narrower and slightly more high-end customer base – which, aside from the sales perspective, wasn’t really what I set out to do with Brass Tacks. What can I say- I got carried away with designing and forgot to think about commercial appeal!

I want to design creative clothes, but I also want to appeal to a wider, more mainstream customer. Enter new plan: Brass Tacks Gold. In every collection I will have 2 or 3 styles that are a little more adventurous and fashion-forward compared to the usual Brass Tacks collections. These styles can be quirky or glamorous, but they must be visually distinctive. From this past collection French Parfait (with more volume at the hip ruching) and Sculpted Dhoti fall into the Brass Tacks Gold aesthetic. For these styles I will have a small inventory, but these are the styles that will carry the brand image. The rest of the styles in the collection (around 10 styles) will stick to the core Brass Tacks aesthetic: simple, with small twists and tailoring details.

French Parfait (left) and Sculpted Dhoti (right)

2009 has been a difficult year with a lot of lessons learned. Now with the new pricing scheme, a “kurta” quota in every collection, and ‘Brass Tacks Gold’, I’m excited for this year.